Cote in Wilkes-Barre on a tryout

According to Jonathan Bombulie of the Wilkes-Barre Citizen’s Voice, defenseman Jean-Philippe Cote has arrived at training camp with the Penguins.  Cote, 26, attended NHL training camp with the Colorado Avalanche and after being cut, decided to come to Wilkes-Barre to strike up a two-way contract.  He’s a welcome addition to a lineup that will miss Alex Goligoski, who will remain in Pittsburgh after injuries to Pittsburgh’s top two defensemen.

Cote put up 54 points in 334 career AHL games.  He also racked up 477 penalty minutes in that time, taking on all comers.  He’ll bolster the defensive corps, which also includes Joey Mormina, Danny Richmond, Deryk Engelland, Ben Lovejoy, T.J. Kemp, and one of either Jon D’Aversa or Reid Cashman.

All players clear waivers; Woods to Cincinnati

Ryan Stone, and 11 others, have cleared waivers.

The 11 players assigned to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton last week have all cleared waivers and will be with the team this weekend for their preseason games against the Hershey Bears.  Forwards Ryan Stone, Chris Minard, Jonathan Filewich, Kris Beech, Dave Gove, Adam Henrich, Connor James, defensemen Joey Mormina, Danny Richmond, T.J. Kemp, and Deryk Engelland have all cleared.

In addition, Mitch Woods, previously mentioned as sticking with the team, has been released outright to the Cincinnati Cyclones of the ECHL.

Penguins make first cuts to ECHL

Today’s cuts to the ECHL come courtesy of Jonathan Bombulie, beat writer for the Pens at the Citizen’s Voice:

Players packing up and heading for Wheeling are: Aaron Clarke, Andrew Lord, Rob Sirianni, Jeremy Scherlinck, Jonathan Ornelas, Matt Grennier, Doug Krantz, and Cliff Loya.  Shipping off to the Reading Royals will be Mike Salekin and Kevin Harvey, while Nino Musitelli and Nathan Schwartzbauer will be playing for the Dayton Bombers.  Finally, Brad Farynuk will head to the South Carolina Stingrays.

These moves leave Wilkes-Barre/Scranton with the following players:  Forwards Aaron Boogaard, Tim Wallace, Luca Caputi, Jean-Michel Daoust, Bryan Ewing, Tommy Goebel, Joey Haddad, Nick Johnson, Mark Letestu, Jordan Morrison, Mitch Woods, defensemen Ben Lovejoy, Reid Cashman, Jon D’Aversa, Elgin Reid, Brock Sheahan, and goaltenders Adam Berkhoel, David Brown, and Curtis Darling.

In addition to those players listed above, the following need to clear waivers by Monday at 12:01pm EST:  Forwards Ryan Stone, Chris Minard, Jonathan Filewich, Kris Beech, Dave Gove, Adam Henrich, Connor James, defensemen Joey Mormina, Danny Richmond, T.J. Kemp, and Deryk Engelland.

Mitch Woods making the most of his tryout

Mitch Woods last season with the Fort Wayne Komets

Mitch Woods, a 22 year old rookie out of Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, has done everything to show he belongs at the AHL level.  He spent last season in Fort Wayne, Indiana with the IHL’s Fort Wayne Komets.  He put up 297 penalty minutes while contributing 36 points in 73 games.  The 5’10″ spitfire is now trying to make the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins during this year’s training camp.

He has already fought former Penguins draftee Moises Gutierrez, who had a 6 inch height advantage, and beat him handily.  He also challenged Kaleb Betts and pounded him to the ice.  Woods has also contributed offensively, chipping in a few points during this weekends preseason games.  If he survives today’s cuts, he’ll be sure to continue his path this upcoming weekend against the Hershey Bears.  Stay tuned to the blog for any developing stories on the cuts made by the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.

Penguins send two to Wilkes-Barre

The Pittsburgh Penguins have sent forward Connor James and defenseman Danny Richmond to the AHL.  They’ll still have to cut one more player before the start of the season, leaving Bill Thomas and Janne Pesonen battling for what is believed to be the final forward spot.

Paul Bissonnette has locked up a roster spot for at least the duration of the trip to Finland and possibly longer.  Stay tuned to the blog for further info.

Penguins drop Senators 2-1; rematch set

Luca Caputi

The Penguins opened the preseason with a 2-1 victory over the host Binghamton Senators on Friday night on goals from Nino Musitelli and Luca Caputi (pictured).  Yep, the Senators got a little tour of Italy with tonight’s game.  Goalie Adam Berkhoel looked excellent in net tonight, making some key saves and also not faltering on the ones he’s expected to make.  He’ll certainly push David Brown a little bit.

The Pens penalty kill was also very well excecuted, killing off multiple two-man advantages.  The fight category was filled out nicely with scraps featuring Aaron Boogaard, Kevin Harvey, and the small, yet feisty Mitch Woods.  Woods, who was clearly outmatched, got an early advantage and never gave up control of the fight, punching former Penguins prospect Moises Gutierrez to the ice.

In an interesting development from the Pittsburgh camp, defenseman Hal Gill will join Rob Scuderi, Sergei Gonchar, and Ryan Whitney on the ‘hobbled’ list.  Gill took a shot in the first period and has a bruised knee.  It isn’t serious, but could hamper him for a week or so, just enough to justify bringing Paul Bissonnette to Sweden.  I suppose only time will tell.  We’ll see who gets a look during tomorrow’s game against Binghamton at 7:05 in Wilkes-Barre to fill the void.

5 Min Left

2-1 Pens

Zzzzzzzzz.

Live Blog

6:50 – almost nobody here, this should be good. Darling and Berkhoel dressed .

6:55 – zamboni finishing up….it’s hockey time!

7 – Chris Brown is the ref. Berkhoel starts. D’Aversa-Cashman on d, Daoust, Letestu, and Johnson up front

7:10 – Guttierez takes a 2 min hold, Pens Pp

7:45 – 1-0 Pens after 1. Lots of penalties and a missed boarding call. Boogaard bounced up, though, and fed Chaz Johnson a few uppercuts as the period ended.

—-end of 1st—-

Liveblogging for tonight’s game?

@

7:05pm – Broome County Arena in Binghamton, NY

I’m going to make an attempt at doing a liveblog for tonight’s game in Binghamton. It will be carried on 102.3 FM, The Mountain tonight at 7:05 PM, but for live breaking observations from Warm-Ups right through the final minutes, check back here. It’ll be my first attempt, so we’ll see how it goes.

Penguins extend Kennedy for two years

The Pittsburgh Penguins have extended the contract of forward Tyler Kennedy for two years, through the 2011-2012 season per WPXI.

Kennedy, 22, played 55 games for the Pens last season, registering 19 points (10 goals, nine assists) along with 35 penalty minutes.

He finished the season tied for third on the team with four game-winning goals.During the playoffs, Kennedy played in 20 games, recording four assists and 13 penalty minutes.